Beloved Characters
Charlie McCarthy, a wooden red-hed boy, was built in Chicago in the fall of 1919 by a woodcarver named Theodore Mack. Charlie and Edgar Bergen, a Chicagoan comedian and ventriloquist, became life-long partners. Together they starred in numerous radio shows between 1937 and 1956. Although listeners could not appreciate Bergen's ventriloquist abilities during their radio broadcasts, they loved Charlie's unique personality. Charlie and Edgar also made numerous appearances on TV in the Charlie McCarthy Show, the Edgar Bergen Hour and various Christmas and Thanksgiving specials. In 1937 Edgar Bergen received a wooden honorary Oscar for his creation of the beloved Charlie McCarthy.
Jake and Elwood Blues are two fictional characters, created and started by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd for a musical sketch for Saturday Night Life in 1976. The Blues Brothers Film, released in 1980 is a musical comedy about the Blues Borthers', "mission from God" to save the old orphanage they grew in from closing due to tax debt. To do so, the brothers reunite their R&B band and organize a concert, but they encounter many obstacles in the way. The Blues Brothers film had a great success and became a cult classic. Its two main characters remain one of the most popular Chicagoan fictional characters.
Ferris Bueller is the main character of the 1986 famous teen comedy Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Ferris is a high-school student who decides to skip school with his friends and spend a day visiting Chicago. During the movie, Ferris often talks to the audience about his friends and his own life story. The film features many Chicago landmarks such as the Sears Tower and the Art Institute. The movie became a pop culture icon, being quoted by important personalities such as the First Lady Barbara Bush, and selected to be part of the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress because of its cultural significance.